Another Sagara
by KaitaKembi
Summary: After Sanosuke is defeated by Kenshin, a strange girl comes to see him at the hospital. She somehow seems to know about the Sekihotai. But who could this girl be? Read and review plz.
1. Suruka

KaitaKembi: A different type of fanfic for me. This time it's Rurouni Kenshin. I've had this idea in mind ever since I saw the episode where Sanosuke's past was told. This story is the episode I would use to introduce my own character, Suruka Sagara. She's not related to Sano, though. During this story you have to keep in mind that Sano got his name from Captain Sagara of the Sekihoutai. Well, R and R plz. (read and review)  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chapter 1: Suruka  
  
Suruka climbed the tree to try and get a better view of the fight. But there wasn't any fighting going on right now. The man that the Battousai had been fighting was trying to stand using his broken zanbatou. He was talking to the Battousai, but Suruka could here what he was saying. He started to yell. Suddenly, the Battousai ran up to him and punched him in the face. Suruka smiled and got down from the tree. The real fight was over if the Battousai wasn't even going to use his sword.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Suruka walked into the hospital where Sanosuke's injuries were being treated.  
  
"May I see Sanosuke Sagara please?" she asked the nurse very politely.  
  
"Of course," the nurse smiled, "Are you family?"  
  
"You could say that?" Suruka replied. The nurse gave her an odd look and then led her inside.  
  
"Please, leave me with him. We can talk better that way," Suruka whispered to the nurse. The nurse nodded and left. Suruka walked over to Sanosuke's side.  
  
"Sanosuke," she said, her voice calm and even. The man didn't move, "Sanosuke Sagara, get up. I know you're not asleep."  
  
Sanosuke opened one of his eyes and stared at her, "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"Someone from your not-so-distant past."  
  
Sanosuke opened both his eyes at that. He sat up slowly, still slightly week from the injuries the Battousai had given him. He looked the young teenager up and down, "Who are you and what do you want?"  
  
Suruka smiled at the gangster, "My name is Suruka Sagara, and I've come to tell you that my brother would not be pleased at you now. Look at you. You're pathetic. Lying there on a hospital bead when you should be doing the good works of the Sekihoutai. Trying to protect the weak instead of gambling you're life away and killing those who you're told to kill."  
  
Sanosuke stared at the girl in disbelief. Then his shock turned into anger, "What are you doing with my last name? How do you know about the Sekihoutai? Why the hell should I care what your brother thinks of me?"  
  
Suruka shook her head, still smiling, and turned to go, "All those questions will be answered in good time, Sanosuke. I'm sure we'll meet again. Goodbye."  
  
"Wait! Why did you - " Sanosuke started before the girl left the room. He gritted his teeth and fell back onto his bead, wondering about his strange guest.  
  
Suruka smirked as she left the hospital. 'Sanosuke Sagara,' she thought, 'I'll be watching you from now on.'  
  
* * * * *  
  
KaitaKembi: UUUU!! Mysterious!! Well, I hope you like it. For anyone who's wondering, Sano is 19 at this point in the story. Suruka is between 12 and 14. Well, review this plz!! 


	2. Meeting In The Market

KaitaKembi: Don't worry; I can make two stories at once. I will still be working on my Love Portal Problems story as well as this one. Well, read and review.  
  
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Chapter 2: A Meeting In The Market  
  
Suruka smiled as she walked down the streets of Tokyo. She was following Sanosuke and his new band of friends. It seemed that, after his embarrassing defeat, he had decided to become friends with the Battousai. That was fine with Suruka. It was easier to follow both of them that way.  
  
She had begun to track the Battousai, or Kenshin Himura, when he had made his permanent residence at the Kamiya Kashin Dojo. Then, when Zana or Sanosuke Sagara had challenged the Battousai to a battle, she had decided to follow him too. After all, it wasn't every day Suruka found someone with her same name, and Sanosuke looked familiar.  
  
"Hey, Kenshin," said Kaoru, the lady who he lived with, "I think we need some more fish. And look at these. They're fresh."  
  
"Awww! Not more fish! You get ugly eating fish! No wonder you're so ugly!" Yahiko taunted his teacher.  
  
"Who are you calling ugly?" Kaoru shot, "You should really have more respect for you're elders, Yahiko!"  
  
"Ugly! Ugly! Uuuuuuugly!" Yahiko danced out of Kaoru reach as she grabbed for him.  
  
Somebody chuckled behind them "It's funny how you think these idiots can hide you, Battousai."  
  
Kenshin turned, looking for who had spoken. But all he saw was a young girl walking away.  
  
"Hey! It's you!" Sano suddenly yelled, startling Kaoru and Yahiko out of their fight. The girl kept walking. "Don't just walk away like I'm not talking to you!" Sano ran after the girl, "Hey!" He reached out to grab her shoulder, but suddenly the girl wasn't there.  
  
"What?" Sano gasped. Kenshin narrowed his eyes. The girl appeared a little farther up the road. Sano was tempted to go after her, but Kenshin put his hand on Sano's shoulder.  
  
"Let her go," he said.  
  
Kaoru and Yahiko ran up to the two men. "Who was that, Sano?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"Nobody," Sano rubbed the back of his head.  
  
Yahiko looked at Sano, puzzled. 'Who was that girl and what connection does she have to Sano?'   
  
* * * * *  
  
"Oh, hello Kenshin," said Doctor Gensai when they returned from market, "There was a girl here to see you earlier, but I told her you weren't here right now."  
  
"What did this girl look like?" Kenshin asked.  
  
Doctor Genkai thought for a second, "She had long black hair tied in a high ponytail with a red bow. She was a little taller than Yahiko and she looked like she was about thirteen. She was wearing a light purple kimono with a blue bow."  
  
"What did she want?" Sano asked.  
  
"She just wanted to know if Kenshin was around. I told her no, but he would be soon if she wanted to stay and wait. She thanked me for the offer but said that she didn't want to wait. Then she left," Dr. Gensai looked at Kenshin and Sano's grave faces, "Is there something wrong."  
  
"No," Kenshin said and smiled, "I'm fine."  
  
"Uncle Kenny! Uncle Kenny!" two toddlers voices called. Ayame and Suzume ran down the steps.  
  
"Hello little Ayame, little Suzume," Kenshin bent down to greet the two girls.  
  
Sano walked away from Kenshin and the others. He needed to be alone for a little while and get that girl off his mind.   
  
"My name is Suruka Sagara..." Sano shook his head.  
  
'How can that be?' he thought, 'Surely that girl was killed when the Imperialists murdered the Sekihoutai. There was no way she could have survived. Nah, I'm just bein' fool. It's just coincidence.' He looked out beyond the fading sun, 'But maybe it's not.'  
  
* * * * *  
  
KK: I know, for an episode of RK, this would be longer than 25 minutes, maybe. But I'm never very good at short stories. Well, review plz. 


	3. The Order

* * * * *  
  
Chapter 3: The Order  
  
When she got home to the small shack she lived in, Suruka changed from her   
  
kimono to her white gi and gray hakama. They were the clothes she wore when she was training or when she was fighting an opponent at some dojo or another.   
  
Then she rummaged in her chest and pulled out her brother's long, beautiful sword. It was the one that the little boy had handed him the day he died. She had found it on the road next to her brother's dead body after the police were gone.  
  
"Brother, I think of you always," she whispered to the sword, and put it into the sheath she had found with it. She put the sheath in her tie and walked outside. She breathed in the cool evening air. It was a perfect day to train.  
  
"Now, which tree should I focus on first?" she looked around, and found the tree she wanted to use as her opponent. It was thick, but not so thick as to be impossible to fell. Suruka narrowed her deep brown eyes and focused on the part of the tree she wished to strike. Then she rushed at the tree and pulled out her sword for her beginning attack. Just as she was about to strike the tree, she heard a resounding CLANG as though her blade had struck something metal. She looked up, and found herself face to face with a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. Startled, Suruka double back flipped away from him and landed on the ground in her fighting stance.  
  
"Who are you?" she yelled at the man. He stood still, almost as though he hadn't heard her, but she knew he had. "Who are you?" Suruka yelled again.  
  
"I need you to do a job for me," the man replied. He sheathed his sword and relaxed his pose. Suruka relaxed too, but she didn't sheath her blade.  
  
"What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I need you to kill Kaoru Kamiya."  
  
Suruka smirked at the order, "I'm not an assassin or a fighter for hire. Go down to the underground and I'm sure you'll find someone with the skills you're looking for."  
  
The man smiled, "But you see, there is no one in the underground with enough skill to get by the man guarding Kaoru Kamiya. I need someone with you're fighting abilities to kill her safely."  
  
"You have some skill with a blade," Suruka said, using a fraise she had picked up off of one of her late opponents, "We don't you just go down and kill her yourself?"  
  
The man chuckled, giving Suruka chills, "I can't. The man guarding her would recognize me instantly. He would start a fight and I have no reason to fight him for now. Surely you wouldn't be recognized."  
  
Suruka put her hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one leg, giving herself a bratty pose, "Hate to tell you, but this man you want me to get by knows who I am. I can't get by him without getting recognized."  
  
The man sighed. Suruka, to her pleasure, could see he was growing impatient. She was glad. She wanted him gone so that she could finish her training and then get some sleep.  
  
"Here," the man threw a sack of money at Suruka's feet, "That's 1000 yen right there. If you kill Kaoru I promise another 1000."  
  
Suruka raised her eyebrow and picked up the bag. She tossed it up in the air, judging how heavy it was. Then she looked at the man. "Deal."  
  
He smiled, "I thought you would see it my way. Now I'll leave you to you're training." Then he walked away back into the darkness.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Suruka sat up later that night, staring at the moneybag. She was sitting on the futon, holding her knees and thinking.  
  
'Can I really do this?' she wondered, 'I've never killed anyone. Well, accept for the fish I eat for supper, but they don't count. They're not human. Still, 2000 yen is a good amount of money to be paid. I better not screw this job up. I think I'll start tomorrow morning. I want to get paid soon. There's a pretty kimono I want to buy down in market.'  
  
With that she rolled over and went to sleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Kenshin," Kaoru called over the yard, "Kenshin I need you're help with something.  
  
"What do you need, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin asked as he stood up from the laundry he was doing. Suddenly, he heard a small whooshing sound. He turned and narrowly avoided a small throwing knife. Instead of hitting him, the knife buried itself in the wooden post that held up part of the laundry line. Kenshin looked over to into the trees beyond the dojo. He saw someone hurrying away through the branches. Kenshin then turned back to the knife. It had a small scrap of paper tied to the handle. He untied the note. It read,  
  
Battousai.   
  
I am in the shadows  
  
Of the walls.  
  
I'm watching her  
  
To see when she falls.  
  
Then I will know  
  
What her weaknesses are.  
  
And I can give her  
  
A deadly scar.  
  
So watch for me  
  
When darkness goes.  
  
For where I will be  
  
Only death knows.  
  
Kenshin looked back at the forest. The figure that had thrown the knife was definitely gone now.  
  
"Kenshin?" Kaoru looked at the wanderer, puzzled.  
  
"Yes, Miss Kaoru? What was it you needed?" Kenshin smiled, trying to reassure her.  
  
Kaoru only stared at him. 'What made him do that?'  
  
* * * * *  
  
Suruka was confident her knife note had done the trick. She was lucky the Battousai was good at dodging. She had thrown the knife badly and it had nearly gone into his skull. Now that would have gotten someone's attention.  
  
"When are you going to do it?" someone asked her.  
  
Suruka turned and looked down the path that led to her home. She knew the man was in the other direction, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't being followed by anyone else. Satisfied, she turned to the man. "I'll do it in my own pace. Not yours."  
  
The man scowled at her, "I'm paying you for this, Suruka. You'll do it at the pace I order you to."  
  
"I told you, I'm not an assassin!" Suruka yelled.  
  
"You are now," the man turned, "This conversation is over. I want you to kill Kaoru Kamiya in the next two days. If you don't, then I'll kill you."  
  
Suruka clenched her teeth as he walked away, "I'd love to see you try and kill me!" she screamed at the man, but he was already gone. "Damn it! I hate this!" Suruka stormed up the hill to her home.  
  
She changed out of her gi and hakama and dressed in her favorite purple kimono. Then she went out to the akabeko, where she knew Kaoru and her friends often went. Sure enough, she saw them sitting at their usual table. She sat in one across from them and ordered a simple soup. She wasn't very hungry.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Yahiko looked over at the girl sitting in the both across from them. She seemed to be all alone. She only looked a few years older than him. 'I wonder what she's doing here,' he thought. Just then, it dawned on him who she was.  
  
"Sano," he whispered and tugged on the ex-gangster's sleeve, "Sano, it's the girl!"  
  
Both Kenshin and Sano looked over at her as she sipped her soup. She looked deep in thought, but Kenshin saw that her eyes constantly roved over to them.  
  
"What's she doing here?" Sano growled.  
  
The girl finished her soup, got up, and left. But just as she was passing the table where Kenshin and the others sat, a small piece of paper fell out of her hand next to Kenshin. Kenshin reached down and picked it up after she was gone. He read it, and then passed it to all the others.  
  
I'll be waiting outside for you. Come to the back of the akabeko and I'll be there. All I want is talk with Kaoru Kamiya.  
  
Yahiko looked from one grave face to another. "Are we going to do it?" he asked.  
  
"Of course not," Kaoru said instantly, "We have no reason to talk to her. Do we, Kenshin?"  
  
Kenshin looked outside, "I think it would be a good thing to go outside. We she should find out what she wants, that we should."  
  
* * * * *  
  
KK: Tada. Thnx to all you who reviewed. I realize that other chapters were very short, but I think this one was longer, don't you? I realize no real action has happened yet. I'm getting there. I may not update for a while because my parents are being dumb and I have schoolwork. I'll update as soon as I can. Review plz. 


	4. The Fight

KK: Sry about the way my last two chapters looked. I tried to load them a different way, and it didn't work. So I'm going back to my original way. Read and review plz. Enjoy!  
  
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Chapter 4: The Fight  
  
Suruka leaned up against the wall behind the akabeko. She had her eyes closed, and she looked like she was sleeping, but she smiled as she heard the sound of four shuffling feet. She walked away from the wall and smiled innocently at the four people before her.  
  
"Thank you for coming out here," she said, "I need to talk to you."  
  
"Who are you?" Yahiko challenged.  
  
Suruka waved her hand, "It's not important. Besides, Sanosuke there can tell you my name at the very least." Two faces turned to look at the taller man. "Don't worry about that. I brought you all out here so that I could ask you something."  
  
They looked at her expectantly. "What do you wish to ask?" Kenshin said when she didn't respond.  
  
The girl's face changed, so that she wasn't smiling. Instead she looked very grave, "I want to fight Kaoru Kamiya."  
  
"What?" Kaoru exclaimed, "But why do you want to fight me?"  
  
Suruka turned, ignoring the question. "I'll come to the dojo in an hour. Be ready by then." Then she walked away.  
  
"But why do you want to fight?" Kaoru yelled after the retreating girl. Suruka didn't turn, and soon disappeared into the crowded Tokyo streets.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kaoru changed into her blue gi and gray hakama. Then she took down one of the bokken and began to fight imaginary people.  
  
Yahiko watched her with interest, "Are you really going to fight?" he asked.  
  
"Of course," Kaoru said and blocked an "attack", "Why shouldn't I? This will be a good demonstration of the Kamiya Kasshin style. You should pay attention, Yahiko."  
  
Yahiko looked at the ground. He had a bad feeling about this fight. 'I don't think that girl would simply want to fight Kaoru unless she had something else in mind. It seems kind of pointless.'  
  
Out in the yard, Kenshin was talking to Sano.  
  
"You really have no idea who she is?" he asked.  
  
"Yah," Sano said around the fish bone in his mouth, "I've only met her once. After you beat me, she visited me in the hospital. She said her name was Suruka Sagara."  
  
Kenshin looked up, "Sagara. Is she related to you?"  
  
Sano lay back on the ground next to Kenshin, who was hanging the laundry, "No. That's what I can't figure out. She also seemed to know about the Sekihoutai. She said her brother wouldn't be pleased with what I was doin', or something like that."  
  
Kenshin said nothing for a moment. Then he sighed, "Kaoru will have to be careful. We should both keep an eye on Suruka while she's here. I do not like this, that I don't" he stood up and started to take the empty laundry basket back inside. But he stopped and turned. "She's coming."  
  
Yahiko walked out of the dojo with a grim look on his face. Suddenly, the door to the Kamiya Dojo property swung open.  
  
Suruka smirked with satisfaction at the shocked looks on Sanosuke and the boy's faces. She walked in and touched the hilt of her brother's sword. She was, once again, wearing her gi and hakama. "What? Did you expect me not to come?" she asked smugly.  
  
"Yahiko, go get Kaoru," Kenshin said.  
  
"I'm here!" Kaoru said and walked out of the dojo.  
  
Suruka stepped forward. She took off her tie and set it on the ground. Then she pulled out a bokken of her own.  
  
"I thought you might use one of those," she said.  
  
Sano and Yahiko looked at each other. Maybe this girl just did want to fight.  
  
"Ok," Kaoru said, "I'll fight you. But I want to know why you want to fight."  
  
Suruka shrugged, "I want to see if the Kamiya Kasshin style is worth learning."  
  
Kaoru smiled at the thought of getting another student, "I think you'll see it is."  
  
"Let's hope so," Suruka shrugged. Then she shifted the bokken into both hands and charged at Kaoru. Kaoru barely blocked Suruka's attack, which was aimed at her wrist.  
  
'She's fast!' Kaoru thought, 'I could barely see her.'  
  
Suruka jumped back and got in a defensive stance as Kaoru attacked her, hitting the bokken just above Suruka's hand. Suruka aimed for Kaoru's head in an attack that could knock her out if it wasn't blocked. It was, and Suruka found her stomach wide open. Kaoru aimed to hit there, but Suruka dropped to knees and hit Kaoru hard in the shins. Then she shot out from under her and hit Kaoru in the chest. The blow had so much force that Kaoru went flying into the wall.  
  
"Kaoru!" Yahiko yelled.  
  
Kenshin watched Suruka while Kaoru struggled to stand. Suruka didn't try to hit her opponent while she caught her breath. It was only when Kaoru looked ready to fight that Suruka disappearing again. Kaoru struggled to see where her opponent had gone.  
  
Suruka ran low to the ground. Instead of heading straight at Kaoru, she ran to where her sword lay and drew it quickly out of the sheath. She dropped the bokken and the continued to Kaoru, sword in hand.  
  
Kenshin saw all of this, and to his horror realized what Suruka intended. He quickly drew his reverse blade sword and ran in between Kaoru and Suruka. CRASH! Suruka heard the sound as her sword struck Kenshin's. She grimaced and double back flipped away from him.   
  
"Damn it!" she muttered and held her sword in a defensive stance.  
  
Kaoru looked in disbelief from Kenshin to Suruka. She tried to figure out what had happened, but was too shocked to put it all together.  
  
"Oh yah!" Yahiko shouted, "Kenshin stopped the girl from killing Kaoru! Go Kenshin!"  
  
Suruka smiled evilly, "You saw what I did, didn't you Battousai. I should have known that my speed would never trick you. Now I know what that man meant. You're good."  
  
Kenshin ignored the compliment. "Why did you come here?"  
  
Suruka put one hand on her hip and looked at him as though he was stupid, "I came here to fight."  
  
"You didn't come here only to fight," Kenshin corrected, "Otherwise you would never have pulled out that sword."  
  
Suruka looked at the sword, as if thinking, "Hmm. I guess I did come here to do more than fight. But I planed to start with one." she shifted the sword back into both hands, "I'll fight you, if I can't kill Kaoru."  
  
"I don't wish to fight you, but I will if you plan to hurt my friends."  
  
Suruka smiled, and charged at Kenshin again. She, this time, aimed for his neck. It would be better if she could finish him off quickly. Kenshin blocked her attacks easily. Suruka crouched down, aiming for Kenshin's knees. But Kenshin jumped up away from her. Suruka turned, grimaced, and ran at him again.  
  
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, do ryu sen!" Kenshin said and slammed his sword into the ground. Suruka watched with horror as earth and rocks sprayed along the ground towards her. She tried to avoid it, but it blew her backwards and into a wall.  
  
Suruka cried out in pain as she was slammed against an outside wall of the dojo. Then she fell to the ground, unable to catch herself. She struggled to get up from the ground. When she finally got to her feet, she saw that the world was spinning. 'I can't be this weak,' she thought. Finally, she was able to focus. She jumped up, trying one of her favorite attacks. She landed behind Kenshin, and quickly rushed at him to slam his back. But he jumped up too.  
  
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, ryu tsui sen!" he yelled, and his sword slammed into Suruka's back.  
  
'That's it,' she thought to herself, 'I'm dead.' But she didn't feel his sword cut her. 'What...' she thought, and then fainted.  
  
Kenshin looked at the girl at his feet, his expression sad. He sheathed his sword as Yahiko, Sano, and Kaoru ran up.  
  
"Wow! You were awesome, Kenshin!" Yahiko praised.  
  
Sano chuckled, "Looks like no one can stop you."  
  
Kaoru bent down and turned Suruka over, "But why did she want to kill me?"  
  
"There she is!" a man's voice suddenly boomed.  
  
All four people turned and Kenshin's eyes narrowed.  
  
There stood that man that had hired Suruka, "Thank you for finding my niece," he said, "We've been so worried, my family and I. She ran away a week ago and we didn't think we'd ever find her."  
  
"Um, excuse me sir," said Kaoru, "But who are you?"  
  
"It's not matter. I only care that my niece is safe," he picked Suruka up. Then he picked up her tie, sword, and bokken. "Again, thank you." Then he left.  
  
* * * * *  
  
KK: Review this plz. 


	5. A Second Try

KK: I realize that I haven't updated in a while, but I've really wanted to work on Love Portal Problems. But now, because no one has reviewed Alice Riddle (all I need is for three ppl to, come on!), I've finished Love Portal Problems, I hit a block on my Peregrine story, Love Lost is done, and because Seven Artifacts is my lowest priority, I've decided to update this wonderful little Rurouni Kenshin fanfic. Well, enjoy and review!  
  
* * * * *  
  
Chapter 5: A Second Try  
  
Suruka awoke with the sun shining in her eyes. Her every single part of her body hurt, but especially her back. She remembered that man...Kenshin...hitting her in the back with his sword. 'Why am I not dead?' she wondered. She was sure she should be sliced in half right now. 'That sword should have cut through.' But then she shrugged. After all, if she wasn't dead, she should be happy just not to be, not pondering why.  
  
She decided to go outside and do some fishing. The fish probably wouldn't be biting, but she needed time to just sit in the sun and relax. Fishing was the most relaxing thing in her life and she did it often. Suruka shouldered her fishing poll (which she had in a chest at the end of her bed) pulled out some bait, and headed down to the river near by her house to fish.  
  
'I wonder what day it is,' she wondered as she sat on the back, poll in the water, 'I think I still have a day left, but I'm not sure.' "Oh well," she sighed, "Even if today is the last day, Kaoru doesn't have to dead until midnight tonight. I can just slip into the dojo later and kill her."  
  
Suddenly, something cold, sharp, and made of metal pressed against her throat.  
  
"Don't be so sure," came the cold voice of her employer behind her.  
  
Suruka pushed the blade away and stood up. "Look, I still have another day left. Kaoru Kamiya is as good as dead. I'm on it."  
  
"You don't seem to be doing much about it now," the man said, referring to her fishing poll.  
  
"Come on!" Suruka exclaimed, "You can't expect this to absorb me day and night. It's not that important to me."  
  
"Your life isn't that important?"  
  
Suruka opened her mouth to say something, and then stopped. She had forgotten his threat.  
  
"If you plan to go back tonight, you should be careful," said her employer, "The Battousai will expect you to come back. I don't think he'll expect another direct attack again. He knows you'll try to attack Kaoru at night. He'll be waiting for you."  
  
Suruka pondered this for a second. "I'll be ready to fight him this time. I now know his strength."  
  
"Do not underestimate him."  
  
Suruka rolled her eyes like a teenager talking to her father, "I won't. I'm not stupid. I know how to fight."  
  
"Of course," her employer smiled, turned, and walked away from her. Suruka felt scared, though she didn't show it. That man unnerved her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Good night Kenshin," Kaoru smiled.  
  
"Good night, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin smiled back, "Sleep well."  
  
"I will with you guarding me."  
  
Kenshin stood outside Kaoru's now closed door. He was worried about another attack from Suruka. Kaoru had given him her permission to guard her during the night incase Suruka should try an attack then.  
  
"You really think she'll come?" Sano asked as he walked up.  
  
"Yes," Kenshin replied, "I do not think Kaoru is safe while Suruka is at large, that I don't."  
  
Sano chewed on his fish bone. "I still can't remember anything about this Suruka girl. I don't think I've ever met anyone like her. I don't know anyone her age."  
  
"Have you thought anything about what she said to you that day at the hospital?"  
  
"Yah," sighed Sano, "But what she says doesn't make any sense. She can't know about the Sekihoutai. She's too young. And I didn't think Captain Sagara had any relatives. But, if what she says is true, she's his younger sister."  
  
"Good job," Suruka's soft, calm voice floated into the dojo from outside, "I never thought you would figure it out."  
  
Kenshin and Sano looked at each other, and then ran outside. Suruka stood on the roof, framed in the moonlight. Her long, dark hair was lifted slightly off her back by a soft breeze, giving her an almost godess-like appearance.  
  
As soon as Suruka was sure that only the Battousai and Sanosuke were outside, she jumped backward and off the roof. Through spying earlier, she had learned that Kaoru's room could be reached by a window just beyond the roof. She pushed open the window and jumped in. Kaoru was, surprising, asleep. Suruka smiled. She would hate to kill Kaoru if she was alive. Suruka pulled out a knife and tiptoed forward to Kaoru's bedside. She raised the blade above the sleeping woman's chest, ready to plunge it into her heart, when the door flew open. Kenshin drew his sword hit Suruka in the chest, once again slamming her into the wall. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her and then fell to the ground. She breathed hard, trying to catch her breath and unable to get up. Kenshin walked over and placed her sword at her neck.  
  
Kaoru, meanwhile, had woken up when Suruka slammed into her wall. She sat curled up under her sheets, waiting for what would happen next.  
  
There was silence for a moment. Kenshin's sword stayed at Suruka's throat. Her breathing was a little labored, but basically normal. Sano wasn't sure what to do.  
  
Finally, "Kill me," Suruka's soft but angry voice broke the silence.  
  
"What?" Kaoru gasped.  
  
"Kill me, Battousai," Suruka repeated, "Go ahead. It's no different than what I'm gonna get if she doesn't die," she jerked her head toward Kaoru.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sano shouted.  
  
"My employer told me two days ago that I had to kill Kaoru in two days. At midnight tonight, if she isn't dead, he'll kill me."  
  
"Who is your employer?" Kenshin asked.  
  
Suruka shrugged dejectedly, "I don't know. He never told me his name."  
  
Kaoru suddenly thought of something. "Hey Kenshin, do you remember that man that came to pick Suruka up after you beat her? Do you think that man could have been her employer?"  
  
"Kenshin thought for a second, his narrowed eyes not really seeing Suruka on the floor before him. "Perhaps, Kaoru, but I do not know why he would want you..." suddenly, he bent down and grabbed Suruka. Then he jumped backwards, still holding her.  
  
Kaoru and Sano gasped. A small throwing knife was buried in the floor right where Suruka had been sitting.  
  
"Dead Battousai?" said a calm, cool voice.  
  
"It's him," Suruka murmured as Kenshin set her down. Her legs shook for a second, and then she collapsed. Kenshin moved to stand in front of her, so that the man now standing in Kaoru's window couldn't get to her.  
  
"You know, Battousai, I'm surprised you didn't kill Suruka when you had the chance. She's a dangerous girl. You should watch out for her. She could be plotting your death right now," the man leered.  
  
Suruka glared daggers at him.  
  
"I do not think that Suruka would try to kill me, now that I have saved her life. If I am right, then she no longer has any reason to wish death on any of us," said Kenshin calmly.  
  
The man chuckled, "She may not, but I do," he leapt down from the window. Kaoru quickly got out of bed and stood next to Sano near the door.  
  
"What do you want?" Sano yelled, "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"My name is Hanyo," the man said.  
  
Kenshin's eyes went wide and he almost dropped his sword. "What?" he gasped, "But I killed you. I'm sure I did."  
  
The man chuckled. Then he through back his head and let out a mighty laugh, "Killed me? No, no one can kill me. Not even you, Hitokiri Battousai could ever hope to match my strength and stamina. I'm immortal!"  
  
"Impossible!" Suruka snorted, "No one's immortal. Everyone in the world must die sometime. It's the law of nature."  
  
"Nature forgot about me when I was born, little girl," Hanyo sneered.  
  
"You sound like a pretty good fight," Sano smiled, "I'll take you on."  
  
"No, Sano!" said Kenshin sternly, "You can't win against him. He's not a normal man."  
  
Sano ignored Kenshin's warning and stepped forward. But his foot had no sooner hit the ground than Hanyo had drawn and it was at Kaoru's throat."  
  
Kaoru, Suruka, and Sano gasped; Kenshin's eyes became slits.  
  
"Battousai, you put me through the worst pain I've ever experienced in my long life. But, thanks to the care of the best doctors in Japan, I was able to regain almost all of my original strength. The only sign that I have ever fought you is the large, jagged scar where you, supposedly, slit my throat. Then I went on a long journey, looking for you. But it seemed you had fled your hometown and become a wanderer. I would never have found you if it hadn't been for that girl behind you. You see, when she called the Battousai that day in the market, I overheard. Then I realized that she what right. I recognized the cross-shape scar on your cheek and you blood-red hair. But it seemed that you no longer cared for yourself and that you only thought of your friends' safety. That's your weakness, Battousai. And that's why this girl has to go."  
  
* * * * *  
  
KK: Suspense. I may not post the nxt chapter 4 a while, but ill try. 


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